Unit 1

 

                                                Unit 1

                    WE TAKE CARE OF THE ENVIRONMENT

        VOCABULARY 

THE RELIEF OF SPAIN

Most of the Spanishn landforms are arranged around the Meseta Central. The Meseta is a plateau(an elevation of land that is flat). 

In the Meseta we can differentiate two mountain ranges: Sistema Central and Montes de Toledo

Around the Meseta we can find some mountain ranges like  Montes de León, Cordillera Cantábrica or Sierra Morena.

Beyond the Meseta (far away from) we can identify Pirineos or Macizo Galaico. 

Here there is a map of the relief.

2. The archipelagos of Spain

An archipelago is a group of islands together. In Spain there are  two archipelagos: Islas Canarias and Islas Baleares.

The archipelago of Islas Canarias is made up of a group of 8 islands: El Hierro, Tenerife, La Gomera, La Palma, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and La Graciosa. Those islands have a volcanic origin. The highest peak is El Teide.

The archipelago of Islas Baleares is made up of a group of 5 islands: Ibiza, Formentera, La Cabrera, Mallorca and Menorca. Those islands are an extension of the Sistemas Béticos. The elevation is low and the highest peaks are in Mallorca (Sierra de Tramuntana and Pla)

3. The Coasts of Spain

Spain has three different coasts: The Atlantic Coast, The mediterranean Coast and the Cantabrian Coast.

They are very different.

3. The rivers of Spain.

A river is a natural stream of water flowing in a channel to the ocean, lake or another river. When a river flows into another river it is called tributary.

Spain has three different river basins: Atlantic, Mediterranean and Cantabrian. A river basin is a territory or land where all the rivers are going to end in the same ocean or sea.

Each basin has special characteristics.

       a) Cantabrian: The rivers are short and they carry an abundant flow.  This is because those rivers are born in the Cordillera Cantábrica and the precipitation is high.

        b) Mediterranean: The rivers are short and they have an irregular flow(almost dry in summer due to the low precipitation). The Ebro is the excepcion to the rule, it is long and the first in volume of water.

        c) Atlantic: The rivers are long, with multiple tributaries and have a lower flow in summer. (The rivers located in Galicia are short with abundant flow)

4. Protected areas

A protected area is a territory of the country where the natural life is preserved by controlling the human activity.  

Some areas of Spain posseses a rich variety of species or endangered ones like wolves.  Creating protected areas can help  those species to increase the population and provide a future for the ecosystem.